TRANMERE ROVERS manager Brian Little promises his old friend Sam Allardyce a warm welcome when he brings Bolton Wanderers to Prenton Park for their third round FA Cup tie next month.

TRANMERE ROVERS manager Brian Little promises his old friend Sam Allardyce a warm welcome when he brings Bolton Wanderers to Prenton Park for their third round FA Cup tie next month.

The two clubs have a history of rivalry that in recent years wasn't always entirely friendly in some quarters and Little wants to keep old grudges in the past.

He said: "I have heard a couple of comments about the history between the two clubs. But Sam and I know each other very well.

"Whatever has gone on in the past is just the past and I don't see it having any effect this time around.

"I'm pleased things have worked out so well for Sam. He will be more than welcome here and his team will be more than welcome."

On Bolton's last visit to Prenton Park for a first division fixture in August 2000, Allardyce (pictured) instructed his players to board the team bus immediately after their 1-0 victory to travel to the Reebok Stadium to shower and change rather than use Tranmere's facilities.

The gesture followed some sharp exchanges between then Tranmere manager John Aldridge and Allardyce in games during the previous season. They included two legs of the League Cup semi-final which Tranmere won 4-0 on aggregate.

The fortunes of the two clubs have moved in opposite directions since then. Tranmere dropped into Division Two in May 2001 after parting company with Aldridge in March. Allardyce led Bolton to promotion to the top flight and have held their Premiership status since.

Little added: "I have tremendous respect for what Sam is doing to keep Bolton in the Premiership because it is an unbelievably hard task.

"Clubs like Bolton, Charlton and Southampton have learned the business of the top flight in the last couple of years.

"They are making it tough for quite a few of the so-called bigger clubs who are underneath them. Managers like Sam and Alan Curbishley deserve a lot of praise for the jobs they are doing.

"They have created teams that no-one looks on as under-dogs in a lot of the games they play these days.

"They have also produced some exciting players. Only last week I was in conversation with someone who was saying Jay-Jay Okocha is a fantastic player.

"We are going to have a taste of what Bolton have put together very soon and I am looking forward to it. It will be a very good test for us." Little's relationship with Allardyce goes back three decades. As a front player with Aston Villa, Little had to run the gauntlet of Big Sam's fear-some tackling during the 1970s.

He recalled: "When Aston Villa won the League Cup in 1977 our next game was against Bolton. Sam was one of two big rough lads at centre-back and they really put our feet back on the ground after Wembley."

The two men also crossed paths as managers. Their last meeting was during the 1998-99 season when Little was at Stoke and Allardyce at Notts County.

Tranmere won their place in the third round draw by digging out a hard-fought and fortuitous 1-0 victory at non-league Hornchurch in the second round last weekend.

Little admitted: "I did not enjoy the game very much because we did not play well and were always under pressure.

"But to come out of it unscathed was fairly pleasing."

Mickey Mellon was the only Tranmere casualty from a bruising encounter. The Scottish midfielder was unable to train yesterday but hopes to be working normally later in the week.